Displaying visible information that is three-dimensional (3D) has been an ongoing challenge for display technologists. One way to address this challenge is by using volumetric display systems where an image is generated by the emission or scattering of light from a predefined space (along the x, y and z axis). The resulting 3D image can be captured from multiple-degree angles by the viewer without visual aid and rendered dynamic when sequentially projected with other images.
Volumetric display systems differ from more traditional 3D display systems where the information is projected on flat, two-dimensional media (along the x and y axis) and depth is simulated using visual effects. Examples of traditional 3D display systems include monitor and projector displays that generate 3D images using different techniques such as algorithm tracing, perspective, masking, and stereoscopy. Another example of traditional 3D display system employs a dynamic surface coupled to a light source, which generates 3D images when the dynamic surface moves at a certain speed. The mentioned-above examples are well known in the art and can generate images in three dimensions but are not compatible for multi-person tasks and off-angle viewing.
Recent technological advances in the area of display technology have created several avenues for producing dynamic 3D images, including holographic displays, swept-volume displays, and air-ionization displays. In practice, however, these technologies have many limitations—such as low resolution, low frame-rate, high cost, and high-system complexity—that have inhibited their use in a wide variety of applications.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved methods and systems for the generation of 3D volumetric images that can provide high-quality dynamic images without high-power multiple light sources operating on air or gas medium and interacting destructively with the imaging media.